Mansions & Music (a theme?)

Wanting to share some of our local history with Laurie, we headed to the Hellman-Erhman Mansion.

In 1897, San Francisco businessman I. W. Hellman began buying property at Sugar Pine Point and by 1913 had acquired nearly 2000 acres. His grand but informal summer home, called Pine Lodge, was completed in 1903 and was considered to be one of the finest in the high Sierra.

The building site was originally a sand hill. Tons of topsoil were brought from the back country to provide the base for lawns and gardens. Most of the building materials for the house were obtained locally,

The house, designed by Walter Danforth Bliss, was equipped with the best and most modern utility systems including electric lights and complete indoor plumbing. Steam generators produced electricity until commercial power was available in 1927. Water was obtained from General Creek and later pumped directly from the Lake. The mansion's dining room walls are covered with strips of woven redwood, creating a warm, natural and very unique look. Authentic chandeliers, leaded glass cabinets, and hardwood floors grace the house which is decorated in 1930's period furniture.

Hellman had immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1859. He moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles when he purchased the Nevada Bank. This bank eventually merged with Wells Fargo and Hellman served as President. Upon Hellman's death in 1920, his youngest daughter Florence Ehrman inherited the Pine Lodge and it gradually became known as the Ehrman Mansion.

Outlying buildings include a caretaker's cottage by the lake, the children's house by the tennis court, maids' quarters, butler’s cabin, ice house, coach house, power house, a dressing room, a pump house, two boat houses, and the boatman’s cabin. The Ehrmans owned two boats, Comet and Cherokee.

This is a view of the home from its dock. Spectacular.

Located in the carriage house, the exhibit of "A glimpse of days gone by" was an exceptional way for us to learn even more about the local history.

I love when I learn something new. I had never heard of the Wishbone Highway. Construction of the scenic Wishbone Highway began in the 1890s with the labor of Chinese immigrants. They used picks and shovels, dynamite, mule-drawn Fresno scrapers and steam powered shovels to build the road. The last section of roadway constructed was a 200-foot section known as the Cave Rock tunnel that was blasted through in the 1940s.

The completion of Wishbone Highway began the era of the automobile as the primary form of transformation around Lake Tahoe. By the 1940s traffic accidents increased to the point that local residents called for the first stop signs and road markings. Today over 11 million vehicles travel the historic highway each year.

During the 1960 Winter Olympics, this was the location of the cross-country skiing events. Many of those historic trails still survive.

And as we were leaving, my spirit bear appeared just for Laurie's amusement. So very, very cool.

We ended our day in the Minden Park for the last concert of their Summer Season.

The usual suspects gathered for Savannah Blue. This band has been a popular fixture on the Northern California blues and rock club scene for many years as well as more recent success bringing Southern Rock to a growing number California and Nevada festivals.

Not only do they play the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers, they presented music from the entire genre. Great rocking with great friends.